neg

¹ American  

[neg] / nɛg /

noun

1. Informal. a photographic negative.

2. Slang. a backhanded compliment, especially one used when flirting.

---

verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to imply that (someone or something) is not good enough; to insult with a backhanded compliment or with qualified approval, especially as a ploy to lower the self-esteem of a person or cheapen an object before showing romantic interest or making an offer.

   He negged me for my weight while insisting that curvy ladies can be sexy too.

neg. ² American  

abbreviation

1. negative.

2. negatively.

---

NEG ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. negative

---

neg. ² British  

abbreviation

1. negative(ly)

---

Etymology

Origin of neg

First recorded in 1870–75; shortening of negative ( def. )

Example Sentences

After word of this got back to Spears, she went scorched Earth, posting once again to Instagram but, this time, seeming to neg Timberlake's lack of basketball skills.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2024

The question sounded like a neg, but it eventually spurred enough introspection to prompt her to leave her stable job at Google and take a chance on a new career path.

From The Verge • Aug. 10, 2021

When Franklin, in a moment of accidental candor, criticizes Andre’s “gauche” curatorial taste, Andre falls in love—a neg that launches a thousand theatrical ships.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 11, 2019

Less kindly, these sequences work like a neg: undermining enough to convince you the show is smarter than you are—which sometimes it is.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2019

“In the meantime, call down to the blood bank. I need two units of O neg and keep two units ahead.”

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman